St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-11-12

First Observations from the Mountains OF
spain-Dreary VOL in the Gloomiest OF
Places-Success Achieved at Last-Taken
for Spy-Captured by Privateer.
About eighty years ago two men lett
France on an important mission, VIZ, to
determine the correctness OF the french
standard of linear measure, which 49, as
we all know, the metre. To do this it
was necessary to admeasure great arc
of the earth's circumference at as near
as possible fixed parallel OF latitude.
From this measurement, as a standard
basis, fractional section would be taken.
The parallel of latitude chosen for this
trigonometrical achievement was 45o
north, for the reason that it is the
medium between the greatest circumfer-
ence of the earth at the equator and the
least at the poles. Messieurs Mechain
and Delambre had done this very thing,
and the result of their observations was
accepted as entirely correct, until the
progress of science and the invention of
new instruments discovered few errors
in their acknowledgements serious
errors, but still enough to give
doubtful complexion to the whole; and
In 1906 it was proposed in the French
Institute that the observations of these
two scientists be continued with new
instruments, 80 that all doubts of their
accuracy might be removed This propo-
sition found favor in the sight of Napo-
leon /, then Emperor of France, and he
ordered funds to be applied to fitting out
an expedition. Spain expressed an in
terest in the matter and placed vessel
at the disposal of the party, while Eng
land overcame her antipathy to any
thing Gallo so far as to grant the OBJ
servers letters of safe conduct in case of
trouble with the Mediterranean squadron.
All being thus satisfactorily in order, the
two mathematicians appointed by the
institute departed for the scene of their
labors, and it is from their report of the
expedition-an old French pamphlet
found in secondhand bookstore-that
Gull some remarkable adventures which
fell to the lot of one of these observers
The elder of the men was Monsieur
Blot, one of the most learned physicists of
the age; his companion, Monsieur Arago,
was destined to occupy high position
as one of the most celebrated astrono-
mers of the world. On their arrival in
Spain, they were Joined by Spanish
savant, Senior Rodriguez, and at once set
about their task. They first visited the
mountains where Mechain had fixed his
stations. From the base line thus es-
tablished an imaginary angle extended
to the island of Ivica, 1875 miles off the
Spanish coast. As far as the mainland
was concerned the surveys were proven
perfectly correct, but those connected
with the island could not be satisfactorily
verified, owing to atmospheric obstruc-
tons which prevented the signal lights
being seen at night. These lights must
be seen on starlight night; calm night
and serene sky were necessary, and such
night must be patiently awaited. NJ.
Arago therefore established himself on
one of the mountains of Ivica. Blot
watched on the rocky island of For
mentera, while the third point of the
great triangle was fixed on the naked
PERCEPTIONS cape of San Antonio on the
Spanish mainland.
The observers on the islands did not
have pleasant time. M. Blot found the
little rock of Formenters especially
dreary. He lodged in a poor peasants
hut and constructed temporary observ-
atory, where there was a great deal Of
unpleasant work to be done, lamps to be
filed and trimmed and refectors to be pol
ished every day and adjusted every night,
in order that the signallight might
stream over the sea and meet the watch
full gaze of the other observers, with
out congenial company, eating the
coarsest fare, and only the dreary waste of
the sea to contemplate in moments of
leisure. The weather was remarkably
unpropitious; when there was no moon
the nights were thick and overcast. The
middle Of October merged into the mid
die of December without a successful
observation. At last a model night came
no moon, and the stars reflected in the
blush blackness of the sea. M. Blot
climbed into the observatory and gazed
through his telescope; first toward
the mainland and then toward
Ivica. Hal he sees a tiny luminous
point like star of the sixteenth magni-
tude, but it is not star; it is the signal
light Arago displays from Mount Cam
prey, ten leagues distant. Another
glance and the tiny spark on Cape An
tonic is visible. Victory! The flaming
triangle Is formed, the observation is
made. Three independent stations cal
culated the base line of the triangle and
an infnitesimal difference existed be-
tween them. Then M. Arago made
some observations on the isle of Ivica.
With Spain visible to the eastward and
Majorca to the west, he determined an
arc of parallels of latitude equal to three
degrees of longitude. This arc, being
situated at the southern extremity of the
meridian, showed the curvature of that
part of the terrestrial spheroid of revolu-